Apprentice of the Mist, Son of the Hearth
by Rasi10
Summary: Hecate has grown weak over the years, Percy gets a surprise from Kronos, Hestia has been longing for a child and Erebus just wants to help his daughter. How does this work out in the end? How are they connected? Read on to find out. Cross-posted in Wattpad under the name Rasnak. Prompt given by juubi-mage0327 (Wattpad).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So... New story again. The main inspiration for the story is a prompt by juubi-mage0327 where they requested me to make a story where Percy is the apprentice of Hecate. So... there it goes!**

It was a beautiful evening with the sky painted in the colours of dusk, completely clear of clouds, it painted beautiful scenery. Combined with the beautiful breeze, it would've been a wonderful day for an outing... for the mortals that is.

The demigods, on the other hand, were cursing the gods for that pleasant weather and for once wished that it would be like in the movies - dark, gloomy with clouds overhead, wishing that everything was black and white. Even though the war was won, they all had lost someone close to them.

For the first time in a long time, the mortal parents of demigods were allowed into the camp, to either offer support to the demigods or to mourn the sons and daughters they lost to the Titan. There were some who were stoic, some were a mess but the most affected was Luke's mother. She had been somewhat cured of the curse when Rachel took over as the Oracle.

But many thought that it would've been better if May Castellan hadn't come out off the curse as she was the most distraught of the lot. And it was a completely justifiable thought. She was the one who saw her son's death happening right in front of her, repeatedly and she was now feeling guilty that she couldn't stop it, even though she knew everything beforehand. She was completely inconsolable.

Percy, Annabeth, Grover and most of the cabin leaders stood around, staying strong for the other campers while they mourned, while their own was set aside for a later date as if everyone broke down now, who will be there to support all of them?

The war had lead to a lot of loss of life, both on their side and the enemy lines. A lot of demigods have sacrificed their lives, knowingly or unknowingly, everyone teaching the gods one important lesson in the end - Never ignore your child and to try to communicate with them as often as they could.

Percy had visited his mother for a short while before returning back to the camp as everyone had to be given a proper send-off. And it was evident that everyone needed all the hands and support right now. With a last hug to his mother, he went back to camp, helping everyone with the preparations and shrouds before they set fire to all of them, nearly creating something akin to a bonfire of shrouds. They then sat together at the campfire, sharing anecdotes of all the fun they had together and how they missed the departed.

Hell, some of them took it as the chance to bluntly curse the gods freely about how they caused most of the problems, surprising most of their peers at the new development, but let it slide as most of them were feeling that way then. They had never faced a loss this huge before and it was new, it hurt them, they were at the verge of breaking and the only thing that held together was the surviving demigods.

Later that evening, Thalia, Percy, and Nico snuck out of their cabins and headed towards the beach, seeking out the solace of the calm waters of the sea.

"It feels surreal you know, the war has ended, but you don't feel like celebrating it. After all these losses we've suffered? Who had won in the end?" Percy asked, just staring out at the vast expanse.

"You know, all the demigods who died out there, they made their own choices. Some of them made the choice of joining the other side, some of them decided to sacrifice their lives, some of them decided to betray, some decided to play double spies. It was all their choice there. We didn't force any of them to do those things. So please stop beating yourself up Kelp Head." Thalia said silently.

"Dad has been complaining non stop that I can't even stay down there even if I want to escape this atmosphere. Even if I do head back there, the paperwork will take off my life, I don't know how he manages all the paperwork downstairs." Nico said with a sigh.

"Yeah, our lives are pretty messed up right now. Let's hope that it doesn't get more complicated." Percy said with a sigh. "Don't jinx it Percy." Thalia and Nico shouted in unison.

After a few minutes of silence, Nico asked meekly "Want to grab some cheeseburgers?" "Well, I guess we could treat ourselves for once in a while I guess, we deserve it. Its been a while since we had a Little Big Three meeting." Thalia said.

"Alright then, we can grab our burgers and crash at my home before coming back to camp again I guess. Let us leave a note though, lest anyone panics." Percy said and quickly grabs a paper and writes a message on it, leaving it near the Big house before sneaking out for the midnight snack.

-Line Break-

Hestia was silently tending to the hearth, a sad smile on her face as she saw the devastation the last war had caused. Wars, always bringing the destruction of homes and families along with it. Those were things that always affected her the most. Any family split up, any home destroyed, it always hurt for her to see the destruction of the beautiful yet fragile relationships.

There were times she wished she hadn't chosen to be a maiden goddess. Sometimes she had the urge to have her own family, excluding her large godly family, at least a child she could call her own. The last person who felt this close to her was her priestess in Ancient Greece, devoting her whole life to serve the often forgotten Goddess of Hearth.

It was sad when she had passed away, as now, she had no one to talk to except the gods. Mortals and demigods rarely saw her tending to the hearth, even if spotted, they seldom spoke with her. She was starting to yearn to have her own family, someone she could dote on, someone who would cherish her, someone who...

She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts as she kneeled over in pain. It was like her whole body was set on fire and she didn't know the cause of it. Voices bombarded her head and she let out a silent scream as tears filled her eyes. Something bad was happening, something that was affecting her domain. With the last bit of her consciousness, she flashed herself out before blacking out.

-Line Break-

Hecate was just musing over her thoughts. She had recently noticed that her control over the mist had started deteriorating rapidly as more and more mortals often seem to be able to look past the mist and into the world of the myths.

It was far and few between, but was enough to concern the goddess of the mess that is happening as she feels her control over fade slowly. She knew she'll need someone to take over her role at some point. But it was also a huge responsibility for the person who decided to take up the role. But who will be willing to do this? Was there anything she could do?

She was just wondering on how to act upon this new development when she heard the sound of flashing and turned around to see Hestia curled up into a ball, passed out.

**A/N: That was the first chapter of this story. I will not promise regular updates to you. As in weekly updates and such. Monthly updates... that I can try on the other hand. Any suggestions you want to give me will be accepted!**

**So... I hope you like this story. All comments and criticism highly appreciated!**

**Thank you all for reading!**

**Rasi10 signing off**

**UPDATED ON 19 DECEMBER 2019**

**Republished on 20 November 2020**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So... I am back with the next chapter! Not gonna give any excuses right now for the delay cuz I know that this was not due to writer's block and I think you know that too. I will just promise to try and update sooner though instead of updating it after 8 months.**

"Hestia, what happened?" Hecate asked as she rushed over to her and tried to wake her up to no avail. What had happened for her to pass out? Was she attacked? Was one of her domains attacked? But why would anyone target the peaceful goddess? she thought as she carried Hestia to one of the bedrooms.

And then Hestia suddenly sat up, trying to catch her breath and bearings as she looked around, wondering why she was at Hecate's place. Wasn't she tending to the hearth?

"You flashed yourself here dear. What happened?" Hecate asked in concern. "Oh... it was horrible Hecate! So much heartbreak, so much anguish... it was just too much Hecate... no one must go through that but..." Hestia said as she sobbed.

"But what is the cause of it Hes?" she asked as she pulled her into a hug. "I just... I was tending to the hearth and then it was all sudden and... I think it is one of the demigods who shared a great relationship with their parents Hecate... and I felt the pain from three of them... it was just heart breaking to witness that hearth that was built with love crumble piece by piece and I don't know what to do"

"Do you know who was it?" Hecate asked in worry. It was very rare for Hestia to have this kind of a breakdown after all. There have been homes that were destroyed in war, loved ones separated and such but... none of them are usually this... intense and it worried Hecate a lot.

"Percy"

"Yes Thals?" "Wouldn't your mom mind us bunking up there this late?" Thalia asked in concern. "Nope, I don't think she will mind us bunking for the night. In fact she will be more than happy to house you guys, especially after all this stuff that happened if I am right. Especially you Neeks, you look like a walking stick! Didn't your dad feed you well in the Underworld?" Percy teased.

"Well... with Persephone as your stepmother and Demeter as your grandmother/aunt... you saw what happened. Cereal on top of more cereal on top of more fucking cereal... you thought I could survive without all these greasy goodness?" Nico asked sarcastically and the other two chuckled quietly as a pouting Nico looked adorable.

"Alright alright, we got it mister. Let's just... wait something doesn't feel right" Percy declared as he opened the apartment door. Nothing actually seemed out of place but at the same time... there was this feeling that something was amiss.

The trio took out their weapons and treaded carefully, checking every nook and corner before relaxing a bit, only to tense up again when they noticed something fall in Sally's room and immediately rushed there and were welcomed with a frightening sight.

There was a piece of paper that was held in place with a bloodied Minotaur horn... and Percy was sure that it wasn't his as he had left it back at his cabin and when they switched on the light, they noticed the blood that seemed to come from underneath the bed.

_"Hope you like my gift _😈_"_

They slowly approached the bed, a feeling of dread washing through them, desperately wishing that whatever they find under there wasn't what they were thinking of.

Nico and Percy lifted the bed up, allowing Thalia to check first and she had to control herself from screaming or gagging at the sight in front of her, taking deep breaths as she shook her head and got up, eyes brimming with tears.

Percy's grip tightened on the bed as he gently shifted it to the side and the boys finally got the full view. Sally's body was mutilated badly, probably with the Minotaur horn and her eyes were unseeing, and filled with fright.

"She was alright this morning" Percy whispered, his throat dry as he felt his legs turn into jelly. "I'm so sorry Percy." Nico said as he hugged Percy from behind, Thalia hugging him from the front.

"It's... its just not fair. She just... she just started living afresh... she had her dream job, a new boyfriend... its just not fair" Percy sobbed.

"I know Percy, I know. But it is not your fault ok? Just don't blame yourself for this ok? Just... we'll just sleep for now. We will take care of the funeral and other stuff later on. Just rest for now. You will really need it Percy." Thalia said softly as she tried to pacify her sobbing cousin until they all drifted off to sleep.

It was quite tough to break the news to Paul, who was heartbroken but then started fussing over Percy and how he was feeling after whatever happened and Percy was just overwhelmed at the prospect of arranging the funeral of the person he loved the most, just after all the funerals he had and he hated how relieved he felt when Paul offered to take care of the funeral arrangements because he was the one who should do it but... he just couldn't.

And now he sat by the ocean, glancing back at the Montauk cabin, a place filled with memories and it almost felt like she was sitting beside him, reminiscing the day she met dad as she stared into the ocean and it was just... dad, did he know though? Percy thought as he looked into the ocean, contemplating on whether he should dive in or not.

"She really was a queen among women you know?" a deep voice said and Percy jerked as he turned around to see his dad looking at him with a sad smile.

"She was the best" Percy agreed with a small smile of his own before it dropped. "I miss her too you know? Such a lovely women with an unbelievable amount of patience... she probably would've handed your uncle his arse if she was present at the Winter Solstice meeting" he said as he sat beside Percy, pulling him into a side hug.

"I miss her a lot dad. Its... I just... I don't think I will be able to go back to camp anymore dad... at least not anytime soon... and I don't know what to do... Paul wants to take me in but I don't want to impose on him but if I stay here the CPS will probably knock at the door and it will be a big mess and I just don't get what to do after this... What should I do dad?" Percy asked, his doubt and fear shining clear in his eyes.

Poseidon just looked at his son for a minute before sighing. "Come to Olympus with me son... I don't know if you will be up for it and I don't know if it might be the right thing to do but... I promise that it is not another offer of immortality or godhood. Will you come with me? This is just... we have another problem... quite a big one that will affect us all adversely if not addressed right now. And no, it is not a quest" Poseidon reassured as he spotted the glare Percy spent his way.

"I probably am not explaining it to you properly... just come with me. No one is forcing you to do this and you can say no if you don't want to do it. It is all up to you. And it will be as you wished, some time away from camp and somewhere this... CPS? won't be able to touch you. Will you agree?" Poseidon asked seriously and Percy contemplated for a while.

"Give me some time dad... I will think about it" was all Percy said before he got up and walked away. He had a decision to make after all.

**A/N: So... that's done! I will try to update more sooner next time, I promise guys! Just been a bit tied up back here soo... yeah. Hope you all like it! All comments and criticisms accepted and appreciated!**

**Thank you all for reading!**

**Rasi10 signing off**

**Published on 11 August 2020**


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